This is NOT a Diary that is going to remotely slam Hillary! I might have been a Bernie guy but I've said here I don't know how many times I do in fact like her and come election day I will crawl over broken glass, uphill in both directions, in a driving snowstorm to vote for her.
With that said what I am about to say I've felt for many, many years but almost never say it out loud. Usually only to my parents and closest friends. My fellow Americans, at best are ill informed, at worse both dumb and racist.
That is why Donald is going to win this election. I've been telling those closest to me this since like January. Let me explain my thinking in three sections.
Section 1: We Are Not Informed (or just dumb)
Basically, we have a world of information at our fingertips. Yet time and time again I talk with people (friends, family, and clients) or see interviews with my fellow citizens on MSNBC/CNN/Fox Noise that highlight to me they got no fucking clue.
All the "talking heads" say Americans, blue collar specifically, think the economy is terrible. Okay lets unpack that thought process.
Unemployment at or right under 5%. Just 5 years ago Mitt campaigned saying only he could get the unemployment rate this low. Mitt isn't in office and Obama is. Stock market near or at all time highs. Union members or those with a pension might not directly own stock, but still more than a little of their money is in stocks. All time high month-to-month job growth. Interest rates at near all-time lows. This is a good time to get a loan if you want/need one. Gas well under $3/gallon. Wasn't that long ago it was $5 or more.
And then terrorism, immigration, and Obamacare, three things Trump voters really seem to care about and are at the core if his campaign (if you can really call it that).
Terrorism in the US, almost non-existent. You are more likely to get hit by lighting then die in a terror attack. Illegal immigration to this nation is a net negative. More of the people Trump and his followers want to deport are leaving on their own then coming in. And Obamacare, well it kind of worked and millions and millions of American either now have coverage or better coverage, yet poll after poll says those exact people don't even realize it is because of Obamacare.
These are facts, not my opinion or the opinion of Obama or Hillary.
Now Trump "fans" (and many others) wouldn't believe any of this nor many of the people I know. IMHO these folks are more than uninformed. They are dumb, lack the energy to conduct a Google search, or live in a different reality (or a combo).
Section 2: Many Are Racist/Sexist (or both in most instances)
I don't recall where I got these numbers (they were from a poll if I recall), but they've been in my head for a number of years. 18-22%. That percentage (18-22) of my fellow Americans are racist. They might not fly a Nazi flag, but they are in fact racist. Or as my late grandfather told me in like 1998, "there are the good Negros and then there are the Ni&*ers."
I think the percentage is much higher.
An example. My brother, as I have noted here, married into this huge family. They are all far, far right. They've never once said something directly racist around me (seem like really nice folks), but then I think most Americans know it is 2016 and what you could say in the not so distant past, you just can't say it openly now in a group of people you don't know well. But that doesn't mean that isn't what they still believe.
Section 3: Americans Like "Shinny" Things
This isn't as much as Americans are dumb as it is the "dumbing down" of Americans. I'll use my brother and his wife as an example here. Just bought a huge house (their second). Both college educated. Both with very, very well paying jobs. They drive German sedans. Nothing in their house was bought remotely at a Walmart or discount store.
I am not sure either could name the US Secretary of State. I ask my brother about the most general political or news related question and he tells me he doesn't have time. He has a job and wife. Seven-year-old daughter.
He tells me this while he is reading TMZ (he is 39 BTW) on his smartphone.
Conclusion
Again I HATE to say this, I am a polite dude, but my fellow Americans are dumb. It is more than just not being informed (although clearly apart). There have been many times here I have argued that isn't the case, saying like the example of my brother above, they don't have the time I do to read this or that. My heart wasn't in that debate because I NEVER felt that way.
I just don't like to call my fellow Americans dumb. But I don’t know what other conclusion to come to at this point.
But IMHO there is no escaping it at this point. That is why Trump, with this reality show personality, playing to the base fear and racism, plus our media making us dumber because they know for ratings we like "shinny things" Trump is going to beat Hillary.